August 16, 2011 7:44pm EDTAugust 16, 2011 7:40pm EDTChanning Crowder backed up the retirement talk by saying he hoped to play in 2012.

Jeff Darlington

Published on Aug. 16, 2011

Aug. 16, 2011

Former Dolphins LB Channing Crowder made it clear Tuesday his intended “retirement” is only likely to last a year before he makes a return to the NFL.

Just don’t expect him to be back in a Miami uniform as long as general manager Jeff Ireland is around.

Crowder, who is expected to get a part-time gig on WQAM radio in South Florida, spent time as a guest on the station’s Joe Rose Show on Tuesday.

During the appearance, he said he doesn’t believe quarterback Chad Henne has a “winner” within him to get the job done in critical moments. He also said he had many rifts with Ireland, who constantly fined him thousands of dollars when he’d make outlandish public comments.

Crowder later told Sporting News that he’ll probably play “three or four more years,” after he spends this year raising his unborn son, who is expected to be delivered within the next two weeks.

Whether Crowder will have any suitors remains to be seen, but he plans to throw his name into the free agency pool next year. The six-year starter still has enough gas left in the tank to be an effective player, but he’ll need to stay in football shape throughout the year to do so.

Notes: Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said he estimated at the end of last season that Miami dropped about 25 to 28 interceptions that should have been caught. That’s a massive chunk of missed opportunities. The good news, at least to this point in training camp, is that the team seems to be doing a better job now. In Tuesday’s practice alone, there were three interceptions. Miami must just hope these picks are the result of an improved defense—not a struggling group of quarterbacks.